Clothesline apparatus



July 29, I947. J. B. MANGAN 2,424,837

CLOTHESLINE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 29, 1947 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE GEOTHESLINE APPARATUS J oseph- B, Mangan, Wethersfield, Conn.

Application October 24, 1944, Serial No. 560,146

9"Olaims;

1' This invention relates-to clothesIi-nes, and more particularly to a support for an endless clothesline carrying a pair of pulleys, which are suspended on verticalv axes by a pair of horizontal brackets hooked upon a pair of vertical supports such as a house, and a post remote therefrom, respectively.

One object of the present invention is to provide a clothesline apparatus of the above nature in which the entire length of the line may be. used tosupport the clothes being dried.

A further object isto. provide an apparatus of the above nature in which the clothesline is arrangedin such a manner that both courses of said line are: on the same horizontal elevationto permit: the clothes to dry on both of said courses simultaneously without interference with each other.

A. further object. is to provide a device of the above nature in which the dried clothes which were first suspended on the line may be the first to:v be removed without disturbing the wet clothes which were later hung on the line.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above nature in; which each of the pulleys is provided with a pair of' opposed upper and lower guide wheelsv having notches to permit twisting of the clothespins as they pass through thepulley, said guide wheels being capable of independent rotationso. as topermit said clothespins to remain in: an inclined position throughout their travel through the pulley;

A further object is to provide an. apparatus of the above nature which will be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install: and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efiici'ent and durable in use.

With these. and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawings one form in. which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice;

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a side view in elevation of. a clothesline apparatus embodying the: invention as} it appears in use when supportingv clothes on a line located between ahouse and a post remote from the house.

Fig. 2. is atop plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is. a side elevation, partly in section, of one of the pulleys and a portion of its supporting bracket.

Fig. 4' is a fragmentary plan view of the same.

Fig; 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of one of the supporting brackets and the Y-shaped detent clip attached thereto as it appears in detachable locking engagement with one of the guide wheels.

With the present invention, since both sides ofthe clothesline are in use at the same time, the average family laundry may be dried and aired on a clothesline with a total length of approximately one-half that of a conventional clothesline, and permitting the clothes to be dried in a continuous cycle because the dry clothes can be removed as fast as they become dry and may be replaced with wet clothes on the other side of the line.

Moreover, withthe present invention, the necessity for dampening the clothes before ironing will be greatly lessened and the ironing itself will be facilitated as the clothes can be removed from the line at the correct stage of dampness without requiring the removal of the clothes which are too wet. A further advantage isthat both sides of each article of clothing will be exposed to the direct sunshine because said article passes in two directions back and forth, around the two courses of the line.

Referring now to the. drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral lid indicates a wall of ahouse, and thenumeral. H: a post remote fromthe. house, upon which wall and post a. pair of horizontal hooks l2, [3 are attached. The. hooks I2, 13' are adapted to sup-- port a pair of- Ji-shaped brackets M, [5 having horizontal fiat outer apertured ends I la, lfia, respectively, for fitting over the hooks l2, [3 Centered within the J-shaped brackets are a pair of horizontal pulleys l6, ll, around which is passed an endless clothesline [8.

The J -shaped brackets l4, I5are provided with inverted V-shaped arched sections i9, 20 which permit the cl'othespins 2|, the clothes 21a; and the knotted end (not shown) of the clothesline 18 to pass freely under said brackets without contact therewith, The brackets M, l5 have horrzontaltinner portions 22;, 23 which are. riveted to a pair of U-shaped pulley housings 24, 25 which have blunt vertical inner points 2 2a, 25a, respectively, for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully described. The housings 2d, 25' have overlapping vertical inner edges 2'6, 21 which are attached rigidly together, preferably by Welding.

In order to provide for the free pivoting of the pulleys l5, H, a pair of fixed journal members 28, 29 are provided within the upper and lower ends of each of the U-shaped housings E l, 25

3 The journals 28, 29 have shoulders 30, 3| near their outer ends.

Provision is also made of a pair of central pulley studs 32, 33 which pass entirely through the housings 24, 25-said studs 32, 33 having heads 34, 35 riveted over at their ends upon said houss, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The studs 32, 33 are thus fixed to said journals 28, 29 and to a central journal 36.

The central journal 36 is surrounded by a centra1 collar 31, and said end journals 28, 29 are surrounded by upper and lower collars 38, 33, respectively. Washers 39a, 40 are located between the central collar 31 and the end collars 38, 39, respectively, to separate each central pulley from its guide Wheel.

Each pulley I6, consists of a pair of opposed half sheaves 4|, 42 having flared outer edges 4|a, 42a, and being seated at their inner ends upon shoulders 43, 44 of the central collar 31. The half sheave sections 4|, 42 have inwardly ofiset flat abutting portions 45 which are connected together by rivets 46, 46.

The clothesline I8 is held within the pulleys I6, I? by a pair of guide wheels 41, 48, mounted in grooves 49, 50 formed in the collars 38, 39, which are independently rotatable upon the journals 28, 23. The guide wheels 41, 48 are provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced curved pointed guide tips between which are vertical grooves 52 which are joined by angular connecting surfaces 53, 54. By means of this construction, it will be seen that the vertical grooves 52 are adapted to form sockets for the clothespins 2| as they pass around the pulleys in the J-shaped brackets l4, IS.

The axes of the grooves 52 are substantially vertical and the outer peripheries of said grooves lie slightly outside the flanges 4|a, 42a of the sheave sections (see Fig. 3).

The upper guide wheel 4'! and the collar 38 are rotatable as a unit on the journal 28, but will normally be held in the position shown in Fig. 4, by a spring detent 55 which is substantially Y-shaped, and is fastened to the housing 24 by a rivet 51. The two branches of the detent 55 are indicated by the numerals58, 59 and each branch is provided on its extremity 60, 6| with an ofiset V-shaped section 62, 63, adapted to fit into the notches 56 in the intermediate portions of the guide wheels 49, 58. The lower guide wheel 48 is provided with a similar Y-shaped detent 5511. This provides a simple and efl'ective construction which will permit either of the guide wheels 41, 48 to be forcibly rotated in either direction by the engagement of the clothespins 2|, the clothes 2 la, or a knot on the clothesline l8.

While two pulleys l6, II are usually employed to support a clothesline across the drying area, as illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be understood that it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to employ more than two pulleys if desired, in which case the clothesline will follow a triangular, square, or-other polygonal course.

Operation The clothesline will first be insertedinto the grooves of the pulleys'and the ends of said line will be detachably connected together in any suitable manner to form a continuous loop. The half sheaves 4|, 42 are rotatable upon the central pulley studs 32, 33. The clothesline may be then easily run in either direction.

When clothes to be dried are hung upon the line by means of the conventional clothespins 2|, the line will be gradually filled with clothes and run away from the house toward the outer pulley l1. As the clothes and pins approach the outer pulley H, the blunt point 25a of the housing 25, and the tapered sides adjacent said point will serve to align each pin 2| which has been twisted in a plane at right angles to the axis of the clothesline.

When the clothespins 2| reach the outer pulley ll, they come into alignment with one pair of the vertically aligned grooves 52 which are then adjacent the sides of the bluntly tapered point 25a. Further movement of the line will cause each pin 2|, and the clothes attached to the line thereby, to engage the grooves 52 and rotate the guide wheels 41, 48 about their axes.

As the clothesline l8 runs around the pulley H, the inward pressure of said line will serve to firmly hold the pins 2| against the pulley, and since the guide wheels 41, 48 are separately held by the detents 58, either of said guide wheels may be rotated ahead of the other when forcibly engaged by an uneven pin which has been twisted out of a plane at right angles to the axis of the clothesline.

When a clothespin 2| reaches the point where the clothesline I8 runs off of the pulley said pin will leave the grooves 52.and the guide wheels 41, 48 will be detented back into vertical ali nment ready to receive the next pin 2|. Each consecutive pin and the clothes attached thereby will pass around the pulley in the same manner.

It will be understood that the flared edges 4|a, 42a of the sheave sections 4|, '42 will be slightly spaced from the guide wheels 41, 43 and that the inclined flanges 64, 64 of said guide wheels 41, 48 will assist in guiding and supporting the clothesline l8.

It will also be understood that the manufacture of the various parts of the present invention may be done simply and economically either by stamping, molding, die casting, or any other method.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied, it is to. be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms. In short the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a support for one end of an endless clothesline which is arranged with both courses on the same horizontal level, a horizontally extending J-shaped bracket secured to a wall or post, a U-shaped housing secured to said bracket and having upper and lower walls, a vertical stud rigidly mounted in said upper and lower walls, and a central pulley and a pair of flanged upper and lower guide wheels mounted for independent rotation on said stud above and below said pulley.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said pulley comprises a pair of disk-shaped abutting sections having inwardly ofE-set portions riveted together and forming an outer curved annular groove for receiving a clothesline.

3. Theinvention as defined in'claim 1, in which said pulley is provided with an outerv line-receiving groove and said guide wheels are provided with outwardly inclined flanges in alignment with the edges of said pulley groove.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which provision is made of a central collar section rigidly connected to said pulley and a pair of end collars connected to said guide wheels respectively, said pulley and. said collar sections being journaled upon said stud.

5. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which means are provided for detachably holding said guide wheels against free rotation but permitting independent rotation of said wheels when force is exerted thereon by a clothespin, a knot in the line, or the clothes.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which resilient detent means are employed to detachably hold each of said guide wheels against free rotation.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which resilient Y-shaped detent means are employed to detachably hold each of said guide wheels against free rotation.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 1, in which said guide wheels are provided on their peripheries with alternating guide tips and clothespin-receiving sockets whereby uneven pins will be accommodated.

9. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said guide wheels are provided with outwardly inclined angular flanges alternating with a series of vertical grooves, the axes of said grooves being located slightly outside the outer edge of said pulley.

JOSEPH B. MANGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 119,539 Smith Oct. 3, 1871 1,984,274 Librett Dec. 11, 1934 930,894 Siemsen Aug. 10, 1909 Veteran Dec. 5, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 293,234 England July 5, 1928 

